Souq ‘joins Amazon family’, confirms CEO

After quite a bit of nail-biting speculation and rumours, Souq.com CEO and Co-Founder Ronaldo Muchawar has confirmed the news on the e-commerce website.

He confirmed that Souq was “joining the Amazon family” and that this was in the best interests of the company.

“Joining the Amazon family will enable us to drive further growth, benefit from their technological investment, offer an even wider product selection through worldwide sourcing, deliver an enhanced customer service experience, as well as continue Amazon’s great track record of empowering sellers locally and globally.”

The Souq story

It all started when the rumours began to float of the acquisition, then valued to be at $1 billion (Dh3.68 billion) around November last year. Then we heard that the deal had fallen through and wasn’t going to happen. Then just over a week ago, the deal was back on the table but at a much lower value of $650 million. Right after that, Emaar was said to have joined the game with an offer of $800 million. And then we come to today.

The decision to go with Amazon shows that it wasn’t just about the money for the owners of Souq but also where the company would end up since rumours suggest Emaar would have wanted to enhance sales on its already existing brick-and-mortar assets.

“Amazon and Souq.com share the same DNA – we’re both driven by customers, invention, and long-term thinking,” said Russ Grandinetti, Amazon Senior Vice-President, International Consumer. “Souq.com pioneered e-commerce in the Middle East, creating a great shopping experience for customers.”

One way or another, this is great news for us as customers. This side of the world has longed for Amazon services for far too long.